Once upon a time
there was a caravan leader. He went from country to country selling
various goods. His caravans usually had at least 500 bullock carts.

On one of these trips his
path led through a very thick forest. Before entering it, he called
together all the members of the caravan. He warned them, "My
friends, when you go through this forest be careful to avoid the poisonous
trees, poisonous fruits, poisonous leaves, poisonous flowers and even
poisonous honeycombs.

"Therefore, whatever
you have not eaten before - whether a fruit, leaf, flower or anything
else - must not be eaten without asking me first." They all said
respectfully, "Yes, sir."

There was a village in
the forest. Just outside the village stood a tree called a 'whatnot
tree'. Its trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits look very similar
to a mango tree. Even the colour, shape, smell and taste are almost
exactly the same as a mango tree. But unlike a mango, the whatnot
fruit is a deadly poison!

Some went ahead of the
caravan and came upon the whatnot tree. They were all hungry, and
the whatnot fruits looked like delicious ripe mangoes. Some started
eating the fruits immediately, without thinking at all. They devoured
them before anyone could say a word.

Others remembered the leader's
warning, but they thought this was just a different variety of mango
tree. They thought they were lucky to find ripe mangoes right next
to a village. So they decided to eat some of the fruits before they
were all gone.

There were also some who
were wiser than the rest. They decided it would be safer to obey the
warning of the caravan leader. Although they didn't know it, he just
happened to be the Enlightenment Being.

When the leader arrived
at the tree, the ones who had been careful and not eaten asked, "Sir,
what is this tree? Is it safe to eat these fruits?"

After investigating thoughtfully
he replied, "No, no. This may look like a mango tree, but it
isn't. It is a poisonous whatnot tree. Don't even touch it!"

The ones who had already
eaten the whatnot fruit were terrified. The caravan leader told them
to make themselves vomit as soon as possible. They did this, and then
were given four sweet foods to eat - raisins, cane sugar paste, sweet
yogurt and bee's honey. In this way their taste buds were refreshed
after throwing up the poisonous whatnot fruit.

Unfortunately, the greediest
and most foolish ones could not be saved. They were the ones who had
started eating the poisonous fruits immediately, without thinking
at all. It was too late for them. The poison had already started doing
its work, and it killed them.

In the past, when caravans
had come to the whatnot tree, the people had eaten its poisonous fruits
and died in their sleep during the night. The next morning the local
villagers had come to the campsite. They had grabbed the dead bodies
by the legs, dragged them to a secret hiding place, and buried them.
Then they had taken for themselves all the merchandise and bullock
carts of the caravan.

They expected to do the
same thing this time. At dawn the next morning the villagers ran towards
the whatnot tree. They said to each other, "The bullocks will
be mine!" "I want the carts and wagons!" "I will
take the loads of merchandise!"

But when they got to the
whatnot tree they saw that most of the people in the caravan were
alive and well. In surprise, they asked them, "How did you know
this was not a mango tree?" They answered, "We did not know,
but our leader had warned us ahead of time, and when he saw it he
knew."

Then the villagers asked
the caravan leader, "Oh wise one, how did you know this was not
a mango tree?"

He replied, "I knew
it for two reasons. First, this tree is easy to climb. And second,
it is right next to a village. If the fruits on such a tree remain
unpicked, they cannot be safe to eat!"

Everyone was amazed that
such lifesaving wisdom was based on such simple common sense. The
caravan continued on its way safely.

The
moral is: The wise are led by common sense; fools follow only hunger.